----- Original Message ----- From: "Gautam Mukunda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 11:13 AM Subject: Re: New Pope?
> --- Dan Minette <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Let me focus things down to one question. According > > to Gautam, one of our > > resident Civil War buffs, the consensus among > > historians is that the > > victory by the North in the Civil War was very > > fortuitous. It was not > > inevitable. Are you arguing that they are wrong? > > Are you arguing that he > > misquoted them? > > > > While the consensus of historians can be wrong, it > > should at least be taken > > seriously. > > > > Dan M. > > Dan, just to be fair, not fortuitous, but not > inevitable either. I think most (but not all) > historians think that Northern victory was likely, > given its resource advantage. I included the fact that someone as talented as Lincoln being elected as part of the fortune, not simply a given. >I don't, actually, I > think it was actually very unlikely, and I think that > opinion is more common the more you're focused on the > military, as opposed to the social, dynamics of the > conflict. Let me inquire about your indefinate specific. I'd guess that the view that the North was favored to win would be more common if you focused on the military and less common if you focused on the social and diplomatic dynamics. Dan M. My old professor, William Gienapp, was > pretty much where I was on the issue, thinking that it > was a very, very near run thing indeed. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
